Nick Underwood has narrated 5 audiobooks on Listento.it by 4 authors, with an average listener rating of 4★ across 2 ratings. The most-rated is The Undesired.
Rugby: The Game of My Life
Summary
An exclusive look at England Rugby from a former player with a unique perspective. Nobody has spent as much time in the front line of rugby union's first two dramatic decades of professionalism - as a player, coach and administrator (blazer) - as Rob Andrew, or taken as much flak, all this in the wake of one of the most distinguished and successful of England Rugby playing careers. From the collapse of amateurism at the 'Lomu' World Cup in 1995 to England's disastrous showing as hosts at the 2015 tournament, Rob Andrew offers a unique insider's account of the headline-grabbing events that saw England rugby scale the greatest heights by winning the 2003 World Cup before sinking to even greater depths with the sacking of coaches Andy Robinson, Brian Aston, Martin Johnson and Stuart Lancaster; the traumas of the global tournament in New Zealand in 2011, which Andrew describes as the 'worst year in the history of the RFU'; and the painful ignominy of becoming the first host nation ever to fail to make the knock-out stages of a World Cup. Rob Andrew has strong views on the managerial and governance decisions made at key moments during his time at Twickenham, on the increasingly difficult challenges faced by the sport as different nations and stakeholders pursued different agendas and on the crucial importance of the need for enlightened and modern-style management across the sporting landscape as commercial pressures put traditional structures under ever greater strain. Most importantly, Andrew gives his views on the individuals who took those far-reaching decisions that impacted so negatively on the national side as it tried to compete on the world stage. Rob Andrew examines in detail the successes and failures of English Rugby in the professional era, analysing the contributing factors to both winning and losing and looking forward to how England can learn from all of this and build to be the best team in the world.
©2017 Rob Andrew (P)2017 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
The Undesired
Summary
The light spilling in from the corridor would have to do. Though weak, it was sufficient to show Aldís a boy sitting in the gloom at the farthest table. He had his back to her, so she couldn't see who it was but could tell that he was one of the youngest. A chill ran down her spine when he spoke again without turning, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. 'Go away. Leave me alone.' 'Come on. You shouldn't be here.' Aldís spoke gently, fairly sure now that the boy must be delirious. Confused rather than dangerous. He turned, slowly and deliberately, and she glimpsed black eyes in a pale face. 'I wasn't talking to you.' Aldis is working in a juvenile detention centre in rural Iceland. She witnesses something deeply disturbing in the middle of the night; soon afterwards two of the boys at the centre are dead. Decades later single father Odinn is looking into alleged abuse at the centre following the unexplained death of the colleague who was previously running the investigation. The more he finds out, though, the more it seems the odd events of the 1970s are linked to the accident that killed his ex-wife. Was her death something more sinister? Yrsa Sigurdardottir is a huge European best seller with both her crime and her horror novels. You might want to sleep with the light on after listening to The Undesired.
©2015 Yrsa Sigurdardóttir (P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton
The Undesired
Summary
Aldis hates her job working in a juvenile detention center in rural Iceland. The boys are difficult, the owners are unpleasant, and there are mysterious noises at night. And then two of the boys go astray.... Decades later single father Odinn is looking into alleged abuse at the center. The more he finds out, though, the more it seems the odd events of the 1970s are linked to the accident that killed his ex-wife. Was her death something more sinister? Yrsa Sigurdardottir is a huge European best seller with both her crime and her horror novels. You might want to sleep with the light on after listening to The Undesired.
©2015 Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, Victoria Cribb. (P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton
The Call of the Wild
Summary
A BBC radio full-cast dramatisation of this much-loved classic adventure about a dog named Buck. In Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, strong sled dogs were in high demand. Buck is stolen from his comfortable home in California and sold into service as a sled dog in Alaska. He becomes progressively feral in the harsh environment, where he is forced to fight to survive and dominate other dogs. Sold to a group of inexperienced gold hunters, he is eventually saved by John Thornton, with whom he forms a deep bond. Exciting and action-packed, The Call of the Wild explores the timeless relationship between man and dog and the draw of primitive instincts that pull Buck away from humanity towards the wilderness. Starring Robert Jack, Finn Den Hertog, Robin Lane, Nick Underwood and Melody Grove.
©2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd
Outskirts
Summary
Forgotten edgelands, furious battles, suburban mysteries - discover the secret history of our green belts.
Green belts are part of the landscape and psyche of post-war Britain, but have led to conflicts at every level of society - between conservationists and developers, town and country, politicians and people, nimbys and the forces of progress.
Growing up on 'the last road in London' on an estate at the edge of the woods, John Grindrod had a childhood that mirrored these tensions. His family, too, seemed caught between two worlds: his wheelchair-bound mother and soft hearted father had moved from the inner city and had trouble adjusting. His warring brothers struggled too: there was the sporty one who loved the outdoors, and the agoraphobic who hated it. And then there was John, an unremarkable boy on the edge of it all discovering something magical.
In the green belts John discovers strange hidden places, from nuclear bunkers to buried landfill sites, and along the way meets planners, protestors, foresters and residents whose passions for and against the green belt tell a fascinating tale of Britain today.
The first book to tell the story of Britain's green belts, Outskirts is at once a fascinating social history, a stirring evocation of the natural world, and a poignant tale of growing up in a place, and within a family, like no other."
©2017 John Grindrod (P)2017 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd